Våler...in search of the Rudshagen Farm

One of the main reasons we came to Norway, and specifically the Oslo area, was to visit two areas where we had connections to our family's heritage. One of the areas was Våler, in search of the Rudshagen family farm. Other relatives had visited this same place and we had seen pictures, but unfortunately we didn't have a good idea of where it was exactly located before hopping in the rental cars for the drive north from Oslo and near the Swedish border.

The drive from Oslo to Våler was one of my favorite memories of our trip. It was basically like a massive Green Bluff in Spokane, but prettier and even more green. We drove past little farms and rolling green farmlands for miles and miles. It was very quaint and pretty.

Our first stop was in town, and although the main town was very small, it still had a restaurant or two where we found some locals enjoying a Saturday afternoon with some drinks, food and local music at a cafe and pub. Michelle asked some of the locals if they had and idea what side of the highway and river the photo we had was taken, and after consulting a few resident experts they weren't sure where the farm was located but that it was clearly taken from the other side and looking back at the town.

Before we headed out to look for the farm, we stopped at the local church and cemetery. I believe the old church had burned down, but parts of it were preserved and it was rebuilt on the edge of the property while the new church was built. The main hope in walking the cemetery grounds was to see if we could find any known relatives that were buried there. We all spread out and walked the entire grounds, and while we didn't see any specific person we recognized, it was awesome to see the entire place just flooded with the same last names I had only seen on paper in genealogy records. Rudshagen (or Rudshaugen) was there, but most of what we found were Engebretsens, which is the same name as my Mom's side of the family with just a slightly different spelling (Engebretson). A few example pictures are below.

From the church we drove to the other side of the highway and river in search of the farm. At this point all we had to go on was a picture of the farm buildings and surrounding area. Since we had two cars we split up and drove a little bit around the farms located on that side. We drove on a few of the main roads trying to match up the buildings until we settled on one specific area based on the photo. Some of the buildings looked similar to the photo, so I tried to get a decent look at the old house that was still on the property despite it being surrounded by a bunch of newer buildings. We eventually ruled it out, but decided this was the closest thing we could find since the skyline of the photo, trees, and other landmarks matched this little hill where we were standing and parked. 

Unfortunately it wasn't the exact place, and the two small farm buildings we were looking for were a field or two farther over, but we were essentially in the adjacent field and close enough as far as I'm concerned. In reality we had driven right past the small side road and missed the actual farm, since it was probably a half a mile off the main road. We had concluded that the old buildings had been torn down for more farm lands, since the last family visitor had last seen it a long time ago.

So, these pictures are not from the farm, but the fields, views and skies were the same ones my ancestors had farmed generations ago:

I wish I could say that this was the end of the day's story, but unfortunately I had to make my major blunder of the trip as we were leaving the farm. Inevitably something goes wrong on a trip this big and this long in a foreign country, and today was the day. We had parked on a side road to another farm so we could walk around. It was so overgrown with greenery that I didn't realize there was a large ditch between the side road and the main road. When I backed out I turned too soon, and got the rental car stuck in a ditch. I tried to get it out myself, but it almost rolled and it wasn't going anywhere. Long story longer, we ended up having to call the rental company and have them send a tow truck with a giant wench to pull me out of the ditch. There wasn't any other option that to wait about an hour for the truck to show up. The car got a little damage on the front bumper too, so when all was said and done this mistake cost about $1,500 to fix. Thankfully we got out though, and able to drive back to Oslo, because the day was ending and I was beginning to think we'd have to knock on random Norwegian doors and ask for help and a place to sleep that night.

Pikes Peak Ride (Take 2)

I took work off today to ride up to the top of Pikes Peak again...this time with my parents! My Dad brought his e-bike and my Mom drove the car to the summit and acted as the group driver, photographer, and aid station!  Unfortunately, today was much harder than a couple of weeks ago. The wind was howling near the top, so it took me 15% more time to make it to the finish on the Hill Climb route. The battery died on my Dad's bike about a mile or two from the summit, but he'll be back to finish the job soon.

This time we started from the toll gate, which is located about 18 miles and 6,600 feet from the summit. I wanted to ride the entire length of the highway at least once since the Hill Climb "race" only covered the final 2/3 of the highway. I also rode down from the summit and recorded a pretty nice video on my new GoPro.

Near the top some people driving by started to give me encouragement from their windows. In fact, three people yelled "you got this" or "you're almost there", which was very nice. A couple of people at the summit gave me a pat on the back, or said I was crazy, or wanted to strike up a conversation with me and ask a few questions. A lot of the cars that passed me along the way had Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska plates. I can imagine seeing some people riding to the top on a bike was somewhat mind-blowing for them.

After the ride my parents and I went out to lunch together and then I stayed at their place for about an hour. It was really nice to hang out with them and enjoy a fun adventure and their company. That's a rare occurrence these days (1:1 time), since we're both busy and I am usually competing with the kids for air time. I also think it's pretty cool that they were willing and able to do this together. For the vast majority of families even the thought of doing something like this is laughable all the way around!

Pikes Peak Hill Climb

After the Courage Classic I was looking for a ride to do in August. I had seen and considered the Pikes Peak Hill Climb a few months ago, but had forgotten about it until now. I decided to sign up for the non-competitive ride about three weeks before it happened. There were concurrent races happening at the same time, including a few professional riders that were participating. The course followed the same route as the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, which is about 12 miles and 4,800 feet up to the summit at 14,115 feet. It took me 1:58, and I finished 30th out of about 110 males of all ages in the non-competitive category.

The event itself was a first for me. I had a lot of fun even though I had to get up early to make the 6:18 a.m. start. I made sure I stayed within my limits since I wasn't familiar with the course and hadn't done any riding before at this elevation. It was pretty much a solid hill straight up with no real breaks. I didn't stop once, which was one of my goals. We had perfect weather...not too hot or cold and no wind. The views were great. There was a roaming motorcycle photographer along the course and some of his pictures are included below. Some are of me and some are just my favorites of the bunch. I'm wearing a black helmet and a blue jersey with white sun sleeves.

There were a couple uni cyclists that made it to the top as well! After hanging out at the top for a little bit I grabbed my backpack that has been shuttled up to the summit and cruised back to my car. The descent was great, but not the best I've done due to the many switchbacks and hairpin turns. Long, sweeping turns are ideal for fun.

Pauline (Wenino) Engebretson

Today we had the memorial service in Fargo for my Grandma. She passed away on May 23 at age 92. Our entire family flew up for a few days for the service and to see other family members and friends.

I don't think a life can or should be summed up in a blog post, so I won't even try. However, I will say that my grandma was a wonderful person and significantly touched many lives, including my own. I always loved spending time with her, whether it be visiting in the summer or later on in life when she would come to Colorado for the holidays. The fact that we shared the same birthday and that her husband died when I was young meant that we were able to share more moments and times then probably otherwise would have happened.

The beautiful thing about death for those that believe is that it's not the end. In her latter stages of life she said that she was ready to go home and meet her savior, Jesus. I know I will see her again at some point in the future. So, thanks for all the great memories and the times we were able to spend together Grandma.  I will see you again.

Special and big thanks to my Mom (and Dad) who helped make everything happen, including preparing the below pictures. There was a slide show on a loop in the service hall before the it started. I loved looking at the pictures, including the ones below that are my favorites of the group. Some of them I had never seen before and some of them I hadn't seen in a long time. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and these are no exception.